The Garden

All the plants in the garden are either native to Connecticut or were known to have been cultivated in domestic New England gardens in 1713 when the house was built.

The front parlor garden and the rear kitchen garden would typically have been surrounded by protective fences. Plants with culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses were mixed together in raised beds.

Achillea millefolium. Yarrow. Herbaceous perennial. Native. Yarrow was used to break a fever by increasing perspiration, to treat hemorrhaging, and to soothe rashes. Native Americans made a tea to cure stomach disorders by steeping the leaves. Phillip Miller’s The Gardener’s Dictionary (1731) noted that “an ointment is made of it for the piles and it is reckoned good against the scab in sheep.”

Allium ampeloprasum. Leek. Bulbous perennial. Introduced.

Allium schoenoprasium. Chives. Bulbous perennial. Introduced.

Allium x proliferum. Egyptian onion. Bulbous perennial. Introduced.

Anchusa sempervirens. Bugloss. Perennial. Introduced.

Anemone hortensis. Emanies. Perennial. Introduced.

Anthemis nobilis.Chamomile. Perennial. Introduced.

Anthriscus cerefolium. Chervil. Annual. Introduced.

Antirrhinum majus. Snapdragons. Annual. Introduced.

Aquilegia vulgaris. Columbine. Perennial. Introduced. “The root, the herb, the flowers, and the seeds have been recommended to be used medicinally…but this plant is of a suspicious tribe, and Linnaeus affirms as of his own knowledge, that children have lost their lives by an over dose of it. The virtues ascribed to a tincture of the flowers, as an anti-phlogistic, and for strengthening the gums, and deterging scorbutic ulcers in the mouth, appear to be better founded.” (Joseph Miller, The Gardener’s Dictionary, 1731)

Helleborus niger. Hellebore. Perennial. Introduced. “It seems to have been principally from its purgative qualities that the ancients esteemed this root such a powerful remedy in maniacal disorders.” (Phillip Miller, The Gardener’s Dictionary, 1731)